Deaths ‘absolutely unnecessary’: Otago has its worst toll in a decade

Otago has had its highest death toll from accidents in more than a decade, prompting a stern warning from police.

So far this year there have been 24 road deaths in Otago and 11 in Southland. There were also 24 deaths in Otago in 2007.

In Southland, there were eight last year and 12 in 2018.

In the last two weeks alone, four people have died in accidents in the region.

Yesterday, one person was killed and another injured in an accident on State Highway 1.

Emergency services were called for the accident in Hillgrove, near Moeraki, at 3 p.m. Two helicopters attended, police, firefighters and St John.

Nationwide, 309 people have died on our roads so far this year. That compares to 336 in all of 2019.

And, as tourists prepare to hit the roads in droves over the next few weeks, police are pleading with motorists to drive safely and make sure they get home.

Dunedin Sergeant Major Nik Leigh said impaired driving, speed, distraction and people not wearing seat belts had been factors in several serious accidents this year.

Accident hot spots included the northern and southern approaches to Oamaru, Moeraki, the roads between Dunedin and Evansdale and Dunedin and Milton, and the northern and southern approaches to Balclutha.

The difference between a close accident and a serious or fatal accident could be down to luck, he said.

“It’s tragic, at the end of the day. These are people who won’t be there for Christmas, they won’t be there for wedding anniversaries, they won’t be there for birthdays.

“They are all tragedies and absolutely unnecessary.”

Because people were unable to travel abroad on vacation, New Zealand’s roads were likely to get busier as people traveled through the country.

That meant people had to consider fatigue when traveling long distances, he said.

Police also continued to detect people driving at “ridiculous” speeds in urban areas. Now that school was closed for the summer, there would be more children away from home.

“Someone traveling at those speeds will not have time to react if a child passes by.”

The silly season was called that for a reason, and many people would take pleasure in the Christmas and New Year holidays.

That is why a dedicated disability prevention team has been established to ensure that people are not drinking and driving.

“We will be out there, we will be visible and we will breath tests everyone.”

Snr Sgt Leigh acknowledged that people could become insensitive to security messages.

They thought it could never happen to them, but it could, and it did.

“We all have families, we all travel. That could easily be one of us.”